Electronic Earmuffs

This is a discussion on Electronic Earmuffs within the General Firearm Discussion forums, part of the Related Topics category; I've been thinking about getting a pair, I have a regular non-electronic set but sometimes it's hard hearing other people, buzzers and such..... My question....Do ...

Electronic Earmuffs

I've been thinking about getting a pair, I have a regular non-electronic set but sometimes it's hard hearing other people, buzzers and such..... My question....Do they really work well, Do you like them and what type/brand do you recommend..... Thanks

I have a pair of Howard Leight Impact Sport muffs I've been using for a couple years. There slim and have enough volume to hear things you normally wouldn't hear without amplification. At the Indoor range I have to be careful with the volume because most people holler when they talk giving me a headache

I have a set of Caldwell's. They're nice looking and comfortable to wear. Like most, they block out noise over a certain (set) decibel level but allow normal conversation. Kinda stealthy because you can listen to the dweeb in the next lane tell his girlfriend all kinds of silly things about guns and laugh to yourself about it.

With electronic hearing protection as in most things you get what you pay for...

That said I have 4 different ones ranging from $20 up to several hundred and love them all, it is great to be able to carry on a normal conversation at the range but still have my hearing intact at the end of the day.

Cheap ones are usually mono, higher price will get you stereo, higher yet will get you quicker cut off, better supression, and amplification so you can hear a normal conversation over 100 yards away, one caveat you also get to hear all of the noise in between, and they will have audio outputs to record what you hear.

I just bought a $230 pair of ProEars Gold muffs. Why? ProEars is the only version of the electronic muff that does dynamic attenuation---that is, most muffs will simply cut off the electronics completely when the gun goes boom and it gets loud. The ProEars will simply attenuate the load boom so you can still hear people talking even while the shooting is happening.

Now, I got these because I am an IDPA safety officer and I think it is worth being able to hear what is going on on the range even when folks are shooting all around. (It didn't hurt that ProEars offers a nice discount to NRA instructors.) Prior to that, I had a $50 pair of the Howard Leight Impact Sports that I thought was great purely from a hearing protection point of view.

Last point is that I usually wear plugs under the muffs. Indoors, or as an outdoors SO with the shooter standing right next to me (and usually a nearby wall or berm to reflect sound right back at me) it can be loud with just the muffs; with the electronics turned up and the plugs underneath, you get the best of both worlds---normal conversations audible and gunshots very nicely muffled.

I've used some cheap ones (I think from Harbor Freight) for years with great effect (I always, however, double up with foam plugs as well). Many times during courses, I've realized I'm the only one listening to the lecture portion of a class on the range while still wearing them.

The plastic finally gave out on them and my wife kindly replaced them with the Howard Leight Impacts which are much more comfortable and better overall quality.